Support means for a food waste disposer



Nov. 11, 1969 F. J. CLEMENTS SUPPORT MEANS FOR A FOOD WASTE DISPOSERFiled Nov. 5. Y 1967 INVENTOR. F'RANC! S 3'. CLEMENTS ms ATTORNEY UnitedStates Patent 3,477,747 SUPPORT MEANS FOR A FOOD WASTE DISPOSER FrancisJ. Clements, Anchorage, Ky., assignor to General Electric Company, acorporation of New York Filed Nov. 3, 1967, Ser. No. 680,369 Int. Cl.F16l 3/00 US. Cl. 285-158 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Means forsupporting a food waste disposer having a housing with an open upper endon a sink or the like basin. The support means include a sleevesupported by the sink and terminating in an open lower end, a supportring carried by the sleeve above its open lower end and a resilientannular boot surrounding the open upper end edge of the disposerhousing. The boot has an inner surface that is slidable over the sleevelower end and an outer surface extending radially outward from theoutside of the housing upper end. The disposer is connected to thesupport ring by a substantially rigid mounting ring and suitableconnector means. The mounting ring has an inner diameter greater thanthe outside diameter of the housing upper end and smaller than theoutside diameter of the boot outer surface, and the connector means arearranged to align and connect the mounting ring to the support ring withthe inner edge of the mounting ring wholly spaced radially outward fromthe outside of the housing upper end and underlying the boot outersurface, and with the rings inner edges vertically spaced from oneanother to permit vertical sliding movement between the boot innersurface and the sleeve. With this arrangement, the mounting ring issolidly connected to the sleeve; however, the disposer housing and theresilient boot surrounding its upper end can move vertically to absorbvibrations which occur during operation of the disposer.

Background of the invention The present invention relates generally tofood waste disposers and more particularly to means for supporting afood waste disposer on a sink or like basin.

Food waste disposers usually include a housing having an open upper endthat is connected to the drain opening of a kitchen sink and serves asan ingress opening for the admission of waste material and water tomotorpowered comminuting means contained within the housing. Operationof the comminuting means frequently causes vibrations which would betransmitted to the sink if the disposer housing were rigidly mountedthereto.

In order to eliminate or reduce the transmission of the vibrations tothe sink, various prior art means have been devised for resilientlymounting the disposer housing to the sink. A typical form of suchprior-art resilient mounting means is illustrated in US. Patent No.3,108,- 755, issued Oct. 29, 1963 to Johnny W. Yartz and the presentinventor, and assigned to the General Electric Company, assignee of thepresent invention. While such prior-art resilient mountings haveproduced satisfactory results, they require a plurality of ratherexpensive heattreated resilient hooks for connecting the upper end ofthe disposer housing to a support ring which is carried by a sleeve thatis mounted in the sink drain opening.

Food waste disposers are mass produced and, therefore, even the smallestcost reduction per unit results in significant savings to themanufacturer during the course of the year. Thus, support means whichwill reduce parts and cost but still provide satisfactory vibrationdamping are desirable not only from the standpoint of themanufacturenbut also from that of the consumer, since the cost savingswill eventually pass to the consumer.

Summary of the invention The present invention provides simplified,lower cost vibration-absorbing means for mounting a food waste disposerhaving a housing with an open upper end to the drain opening of the sinkor like basin. Briefly described, in one presently preferred form, thepresent in vention comprises: (A) a hollow tubular sleeve supported bythe sink within its drain opening and terminating in an open lower end;(B) a substantially rigid support ring carried by the sleeve above itsopen lower end; (C) a resilient annular boot surrounding the open upperend of the disposer housing and having an inner surface slidable overthe sleeve lower end and an outer surface extending radially outwardfrom the outside of the housing open upper end; (D) a substantiallyrigid mounting ring having an inner diameter greater than the outsidediameter of the housing upper end but smaller than the outside diameterof the boot outer surface; and (E) means for aligning and connecting themounting ring with the support ring with the inner edge of the mountingring wholly spaced radially outward from the outside of the housingupper end and underlying the boot outer surface and with the inner edgesof the rings vertically spaced from one another to permit verticalsliding movement between the boot inner surface and the sleeve.

Brief description of the drawing The present invention is illustrated inthe accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of a food wastedisposer incorporating one presently preferred embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a partly broken fragmentary sectional view taken along line22 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the mounting ring ofFIGURES 1 and 2.

Description of the preferred embodiments Referring now to the drawing,and particularly to FIG- URE 1, there is shown a food waste disposer 10having a hollow generally cylindrical open-ended housing or hopper 11defining a comminuting chamber 12. The open upper end of the housing 11is supported from the bottom wall'of a sink 13, or like basin, bysupport means, generally indicated at 14, which will be described indetail hereinafter.

Secured to the lower end of the housing 11 by means of an annular clamp15 is a casing 16. Encapsulated within the casing 16 is an electricmotor 17 having. an upwardly extending rotary output shaft 18 supportedin a bearing 19. The upper end of the shaft 18 extends into thecomminuting chamber 12 and is connected to a comminuting assemblygenerally indicated at 20. The comminuting assembly 20 includes aflywheel 21 which is fixed by a nut 22 to the threaded upper end of theshaft 18 for rotation therewith. At least one impeller 23 is pivotallymounted on the flywheel 21 by means of a pin 24. Secured to the innerwall ofthe housing 10 in radially spaced relationship with the impeller23 is at least one grinding pad 25 which cooperates with the impeller23" to effect a comminuting action within the chamber 12. As is wellknown in the food waste disposer art, the motor 25 rotates the shaft 18and drives the comminuting assembly 20. The impeller 23 is pivotedradially outwardly as the flywheel 21 rotates and each time that theimpeller 23 passes the grinding pad 25, food waste within the chamber 12is comminuted.

The open upper end of the housing 11 constitutes an ingress openingthrough which the waste material and water are supplied to thecomminuting chamber 12 from a drain opening 28 in the bottom wall of thesink 13.

In accordance with the present invention, the support means 14 serveboth to support the disposer 10 from the sink bottom wall 13 and also toconnect the upper end of the disposer housing 11 in a liquid-tightrelationship with the drain opening 28.

In the form of the present invention illustrated in FIG- URES 1-3, thesupport means 14 include a hollow tubular sleeve 29 which has an openlower end arranged to be inserted downward through the sink drainopening 28. The open upper end in the sleeve 29 is provided with anoutwardly extending circular flange 30 adapted to overlie the annularmarginal edge 31 of the drain opening 28. As shown in FIGURE 1, theannular marginal edge 31 is preferably slightly depressed from the sinkbottom wall 13.

The sleeve 29 not only serves to feed the waste material and water fromthe sink drain opening 28 to the open upper end of the disposer housing11 but also supports the housing 10 and its attached motor casing 16. Asubstantially rigid annular metal support ring 32 encircles thedepending portion of the sleeve 29 and is provided with a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced bosses 33, with long set screws 34 threadedlyengaged in the respective bosses. Preferably, the bosses 33 and theassociated set screws 34 will be spaced at uniform intervals around thecircumference of the support ring 32 (three being provided in the formof the invention illustrated, spaced 120 apart). The support ring 32lies in a substantial horizontal plane normal to the axis of the sleeve29 and of the housing 11. The support ring 32 with the set screws 34 issupported from the sleeve 29 by means of a snap ring 35 or the likewhich is pressed against an outwardly facing circular groove 36 formedin the sleeve at a point spaced above its lower end. The set screws 34function to clamp the sleeve flange 30 to the bottom wall of the sink 13by means of a substantially rigid metallic clamping ring 37 encirclingthe sleeve 29 above the support ring 32, it being understood that whenthe set screws 34 are screwed upwardly they will clamp the marginal edge31 of the sink opening 28 tightly between the sleeve flange 30 and theclamping ring 37. Preferably, a vibration-damping gasket 38 will bepositioned between the bottom of the sink 13 and the clamping ring 37.

The housing 11 may be conveniently formed of sheet metal, and the upperedge of its open upper end is surrounded by or embedded in a generallyannular shaped resilient boot 39, which may be formed ofvibration-absorbing elastomeric material. The boot 39 has an innersurface, including axially-spaced inwardly directed annular ridges 40,adapted to be slipped over the open lower end of the sleeve 29 in aliquid-tight relationship therewith, and an outer surface 39a whichextends radially outward from the outer periphery of the upper end ofthe housing 11. The boot 39 may be secured to the upper end of thehousing 11 by suitable fastening means, such as by a circumferentiallyextending band 42.

The support ring 32 and set screws 34 not only function to secure thesleeve 29 to the sink bottom wall 13, but also cooperate with asubstantially rigid metallic mounting ring 43 to connect the disposer 10to the sleeve 29. As best illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2, the mountingring 43 has an inner diameter that is greater than the outer diameter ofthe upper end of the housing 11 but smaller than the outside diameter ofthe boot outer surface 39a, and is adapted to be slipped over the openupper end of the housing 11 before the boot 39 is placed thereon. Theouter diameter of the mounting ring 43 is substantially the same as thatof the support ring 32 and the mounting ring 43 is provided withapertures 44 which are adapted to be slipped over the lower ends of thelong set screws 34 to align its inner edge beneath the boot outersurface 39a but wholly radially spaced from the outer periphery of theupper end of the housing 11 such that a circumjacent gap 41 is definedbetween the inner edge of the mounting ring 43 and the upper end of thehousing 11. Connector means, such as nuts 45, can be threaded over thelower ends of a long set screw 34 to connect the support and mountingrings 32 and 43 together, with the mounting ring 43 aligned by itsapertures 44 as described above.

As shown in FIGURES 1 and 3, the mounting ring 43 has an upturned outeredge 46 which is engaged with the downturned outer edge 47 on thesupport ring 32, when the rings 32 and 43 are connected together asdescribed above. The vertical dimensions of the edges 46 and 47 are madesuch that there is sufficient vertical space between the inner edges ofthe rings 32 and 43 to permit vertical sliding movement of the boot 39relative to the lower end of the sleeve 29.

Hence, with the mounting means 14 of the present invention, vibrationswhich occur in the disposer 10 during operation of the motor 17 areisolated from the sink bottom wall 13 by the resilient boot 39, sincethe only contact between the disposer 10 and the sink bottom wall 13 isthrough the boot inner surface ridges 40, which slidably engage thelower end of the sleeve 29, and the boot outer surface 41, whichoverlies the inner edge of the sleeve-connected mounting ring 43.

In the form of the present invention illustrated in FIGURES 1-3,transmission of vibrations from the disposer 10 to the sink bottom wall13 is further limited by reducing the contact area between the bootouter surface 39a and the underlying inner edge of the mounting ring 43.As illustrated, this is accomplished by providing the inner edge of themounting ring 43 with a plurality of circumferentially spaced upstandingprojections or tabs 48. The tabs '48 have a convex upper edge 49 and arecircumferentially aligned with and equal in number to the apertures 44and thus provide a three-point suspension for the boot outer surface 41,which they underlie when the support and mounting rings 32 and 43 areconnected together as described above. The convex upper edges 49 of thetabs 48 further reduce the contact area between the boot outer surface39a and also dig into the same and thereby inhibit rotary movement ofthe boot 39 relative to the sleeve 29.

It will be understood that in assembling the apparatus in the field, thesleeve 29 will be inserted downwardly into the sink drain opening 28 andits flange 30 seated in the marginal edge 31 of the opening 28. Thegasket 38 and clamping ring 37 will be elevated over the sleeve lowerend to their positions under the sink bottom wall 13. The support ring32 will be elevated over the sleeve lower end and the snap ring 35engaged in the groove 36 to hold the support ring, inner edge spacedabove the lower end of the sleeve 29. After all of this, the sleeve 29will be clamped to the sink bottom wall 13 by threading the long setscrews 34 upwardly through the bosses 33 and into engagement with thebottom of the clamping ring 37.

It will also be understood that the mounting ring 43 will have beenfirst slipped over the upper end of the disposer housing 11 and the boot39 then installed over the upper edge of the housing 11 and securedthereto by the clamping ring 42 at the factory.

Now, in the field, the disposer 10 is elevated and the annular ridges 40on the .inner surface of the housingattached boot- 39 are slipped overthe lower end of the sleeve 29. The mounting ring apertures 44 arealigned with and slipped over the lower ends of the long set screws 34and the nuts 45 are threaded over the lower ends of the set screws 34 toconnect the support and mounting rings 32 and 43 together, engaging theouter edges 46 and 47 with one another.

Thus, it can be seen from the foregoing description, that the presentinvention provides a simplified means for mounting a food waste disposerto a sink or like basin As will be evident from the foregoingdescription, certain aspects of the present invention are not limited tothe particular details of the construction of the example illustrated,and it is contemplated that various other modifications or applicationswill occur to those skilled in the art. It is therefore intended thatthe appended claims shall cover such modifications and applications asdo not depart from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. Means for supporting a food waste disposer having a housing with anopen upper end to a sink or like basin, comprising:

(a) a tubular sleeve supported by the sink and terminating in an openlower end;

(b) a support ring carried by said sleeve above said open end;

(0) a resilient generally annular boot surrounding the upper edge of thehousing open upper end;

(d) said boot having an inner surface slidable over said sleeve lowerend and an outer surface extending radially outward from the outside ofthe housing open upper end;

(e) a mounting ring having an inner diameter greater than the outsidediameter of the housing upper end and smaller than the outside diameterof said boot outer surface, said mounting ring engaging said boot outersurface to support said boot;

(f) screw means for aligning and connecting said mounting ring with saidsupport ring with the inner edge of said mounting ring wholly spacedradially outward from the outside of the housing upper end andunderlying said 'boot outer surface and with the inner edges of saidrings vertically spaced from one another to permit vertical slidingmovement between said boot inner surface and said sleeve; and

(g) said screw means also serving as a means of fastening said sleeve tothe sink.

2. The invention of claim 1, wherein said mounting ring and said meansfor aligning and connecting are substantially rigid.

3. The invention of claim 1, further including means for attaching saidboot to the housing upper end.

4. The invention of claim 1, wherein:

(a) said screw means are threaded into said support ring; and

(b) said mounting ring has apertures which can be slipped over saidscrew means to align said mounting ring with its inner edge whollyradially spaced from the housing upper end.

5. The invention of claim 1, further including means for attaching saidboot to the housing upper end.

6. Means for supporting a food waste disposer having a housing with anopen upper end to a sink or like basin, comprising:

(a) a tubular sleeve supported by the sink and terminating in an openlower end;

(b) a support ring carried by said sleeve above said open lower end;

(c) a resilient generally annular boot surrounding the upper edge of thehousing open upper end;

(d) said boot having an inner surface slidable over said sleeve lowerend and an outer surface extending radially outward from the outside ofthe housing open end;

(e) a mounting ring having an inner diameter greater than the outsidediameter of the housing upper end and smaller than the outside diameterof said boot outer surface; and

(f) said mounting ring having a plurality of circumferentially spacedupstanding projections on its inner edge for engaging the bottom of saidboot outer surface to thereby reduce the contact area between the outersurface of said boot and inner edge of said mounting ring and to inhibitthe rotary movement of said boot relative to said sleeve.

7. The invention of claim 6, further including means for aligning andconnecting said mounting ring with said support ring.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,159,354 12/1964 Yartz et a1241-100.5 3,198,443 8/1965 Guth et al. 241-1005 3,246,132 4/1966 Jordanet al. 285-458 DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner WAYNE L. SHEDD,Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.'R. 241-1005

